The atmosphere was tense. The Swan-Mills extended family were all sat around in the suite, oddly silent, despite the number of people. It would be time for dinner soon, which they would all be having in the suite as a family, including David, Kathryn and Neal.

None of them would ever admit it, but they instinctively wanted to be together before the night's events started to unfold.

'Just in case' were the unspoken words between them that they had all understood, without the need for them to be vocalised.

Emma was like a caged animal. She had agreed to not train that day, after being outvoted by every other member of her family, who wanted her to rest. The lack of physical training had made her restless though, and now all she could do was pace. Her magic was crackling under the surface, just waiting to be set free, and she had a dangerous vibe to her that hadn't been felt since her days as the Dark One.

Regina looked at her wife, and concern clouded her features, wanting to help her but not knowing how. Truly, Regina understood. The waiting around, doing nothing had made the day feel endless, and they were all on edge.

Mal caught her eye, "I've got this," she mouthed silently, and as Regina watched, she walked over to Emma, and took hold of her wrist to stop her pacing. After a moment's whispered discussion, they both left and headed into the bedroom that Emma shared with Regina.

Lily watched the scene unfold and looked questioningly at Regina.

"Emma is really wound up. She's not doing herself any favours, and she will exhaust herself before we even get there, if she doesn't stop," Regina explained, answering Lily's unasked question, "Mal will help her unwind."

"But… How?" Lily asked, looking confused. "They just went into your bedroom together!"

"How? By any means necessary," Regina tried to keep a straight face, knowing that Lily was jumping to conclusions.

"But…" was all Lily managed to get out before Regina grinned.

"They're not about to have sex, Lily," she laughed, "Mal will just help her relax. I don't know how Mal will achieve that, but I trust them both and I know they're not about to have sex."

"Oh… but you don't mind them being in your bedroom together?" Lily was curious.

"Are you suggesting that I should be jealous?" Regina questioned, "because if you are, then you are suggesting that I have reason to doubt the two women I love most in my life. Do you believe that's true? Because I don't. Do you think I have reason to doubt them?"

"I guess not," Lily admitted, "but it's just weird, how close they are?"

"I think they have a beautiful friendship," Regina countered, "I truly believe they are soulmates of a platonic variety. I am lucky to have such loving people in my life. Emma and Mal are the two most loyal people I know, not only to their friends, but also their lovers. Emma would never do anything to hurt me and Mal would never hurt Belle either."

"I just don't get it. I know Emma and I have never known her to be so close to someone, apart from you. It just doesn't make sense to me," Lily tried to explain.

"Can I be blunt?" Regina asked, continuing once Lily nodded her agreement, "I think there is a different reason for you to be struggling with this, and it has nothing to do with you doubting Emma or Mal's relationship when they are alone together. Yes, I know what you were suspicious of, but I can assure you they would never cross that line. I think that perhaps you are back here in this realm, and it is hard for you to watch your former best friend, be so close to another woman, who not only isn't you, but is also your mother. A mother that you have found difficult to bond with. Am I close?"

Lily was stunned.

"I hadn't thought about it, not like that," Lily admitted, "but I guess that makes sense. I want to be close to both of them, but I feel like maybe there isn't room for me. They have found something in each other that they need, and on top of that, what could they possibly want me for?"

Regina got up and walked over to the couch Lily was sat on, reaching out and taking the younger woman's hand.

"They will always have room for you, Lily, they both love you so much. Emma has loved you since she was a teeenager, and Mal has loved you since the day you were conceived. Never doubt that, for it is an absolute truth," Regina told the woman seriously, hoping that Lily would finally understand, "we all need people in our lives in different ways. As her wife, I provide a lot of what Emma needs, and she does the same in return. However, as much as we may like, we need different things from different people, and what Emma needs outside of our marriage she gets from Mal."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Lily queried.

"Quite simply, no. Emma and Mal are extremely close but Emma needs her entire family around her to feel settled and secure, especially after her life growing up. She needs us all, and that includes you, Lily. Emma needs you and so does Mal," Regina smiled at the woman, "it's no different to your relationship with Dot and Ruby if you think about it. Neither one of them was enough on their own, and they weren't enough for each other on their own either. Together though, the three of you have found something special. Like I said, we all need each other in different ways."

"I think I understand," Lily sighed, "I think maybe I'm just finding it hard to adjust to being here. Oz was different, the three of us went off on an adventure and left the world behind. Now, here we are, all familiar people, but it's jarring to not be in the world I left behind. It's like my brain doesn't make sense of it."

"You should talk to Emma about this," Regina advised, "she had a lot of trouble dealing with the fact that she had spent weeks dreaming of escape from her cell, when Snow and Blue captured her. She dreamed of coming home, and that's what kept her going. However, when she finally got free, she wasn't home in Storybrooke, she was here. It took a while to settle in and accept that this was her life now. She still misses the realm she grew up in."

"Once we get through tonight, I will talk to her," Lily promised Regina, smiling genuinely for the first time since their conversation had started.

Regina squeezed her hand once more before letting go, just as Emma and Mal re-emerged from the bedroom. She was happy to see both women smiling and looking more relaxed.

Emma walked over, and plonked herself down on Regina's lap, leaning her shoulder against her, and tucking her face into the side of Regina's neck.

"I live here now," she mumbled, closing her eyes, and inhaling Regina's scent, allowing it to comfort her.

Mal came over and sat in the armchair opposite, looking pleased with herself.

"You apparently worked wonders," Regina gestured to the calm and relaxed woman on her lap, turning her head to kiss her head gently, as Emma let out a satisfied sigh.

"She's feeling much better," is all Mal said with a smile at the brunette.

"I'm glad, thank you," Regina smiled back at the older woman.

"I think we should have dinner now, so that our food has had plenty of time to go down before we leave," Mal suggested, "and then after dinner we should all just try to relax and enjoy the evening as a family. Maybe play some games with the children, to keep them happy and us all occupied."

"That's a great idea," Regina agreed.

xxxxxxxxxx

It was nearly midnight. Regina, Emma and Ruby were standing a little way away from the Lake, waiting for Mal to return to them. She had risen to the skies in dragon form, to scope out the lake and check that there were no unpleasant surprises waiting for them.

Looking up at the moon, Emma turned to Ruby, with a question, "I thought you didn't need your cloak anymore to control your wolf?"

"I don't, and I haven't for a long time, but the cloak is sentimental and I like to have it with me," Ruby admitted, "it makes me feel close to Granny."

"Won't it make it hard to fight tonight, if it comes to that?" Emma wondered, knowing she would have felt restricted if she had to wear a cloak, rather than extra layers for warmth.

"Maybe, but I can always remove it. Mal thought it was a good idea to bring it, because we need Blue to believe not only that I am Ruby, but that you are Lily and Dot," Ruby explained, "Blue knows I never go anywhere without my cloak, so it would be suspicious if I turned up without it. Plus, if I had worn a fake, she would be able to sense it was not magical and would probably realise that something wasn't right."

"Oh, I forgot that. I haven't quite learned to recognise magical signatures yet."

"You're getting better," Regina assured her, "your magical training has been concentrated on fighting, but we will rectify that once this is all over."

"There's Mal," Ruby pointed up at the sky, not surprised that the others couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"How can you see anything? It's so dark," Emma whined.

"Wolves have better eyesight than humans in the dark," Ruby smiled at the complaining woman.

Mal circled slowly and then dropped down into the clearing and transformed back to human form.

"I can't see anyone approaching or any kind of ambush waiting for us," she relayed to them.

"So what do we do? If we go now, then we are making ourselves a target," Regina stated, worry on her face. They had discussed much about this night, but none of them had thought how best to proceed once they had arrived.

"If she arrives walking, then she knows that we will smell her coming," Ruby gestured between herself and Mal, "so my guess would be that she will magically transport herself here at the stroke of midnight."

"So we do the same," Emma stated with determination.

"Yes, that would be a good plan, but to catch her off guard we still need her to believe that she is meeting Ruby, Dot and Lily. Two of which don't have the magic required to teleport, and the other one Blue knows hasn't had magical training, or as far as she is aware," Mal reminded her. "She knows that Lily grew up in the land without magic, and that she left for Oz without really embracing her powers. So we will immediately blow our cover if the three of you teleport into the area surrounding the lake."

"So we walk," Regina agreed, "and you will teleport in behind her while she is distracted with us?"

"Yes, that's the plan and as good a plan as any. Unfortunately none of us know exactly what will happen. I'm concerned, but we have no choice. This needs to end and it needs to end tonight," Mal spoke with determination, as if the fact that they were ending Blue tonight was a done deal.

Mal reached into her jacket pocket, and retrieved vials for each of the women, "these are a combination of potions to enhance your powers, and to give you strength. Their effects are temporary but if we take them now they should last long enough to help."

Each woman dutifully uncorked their vials and downed the contents, and Emma grinned at Mal, "that tasted better than last time."

"We need you at your best, don't we, Saviour," Mal grinned back, "can't have you gaging on the taste, when you're going up against a supervillain!"

"She may be a supervillain, but I have mad superhero lightning skills. I'm gonna fry her," Emma cackled in a deliberate impersonation of a disney villain, effectively lightening the mood between them all.

"It's time. Are you ready?" Mal asked, looking between them all, and noting their matching expressions of grim determination.

"Ready," is the answer she got from all of them.

The three magic users all put protective charms over themselves and the others in an attempt to protect them from magical attack, and then they started to walk.

xxxxxxxxxx

Back at the Swan-Mills suite, the adults were sitting around nervously. Neal and Willow had chosen to sleep in with Henry tonight, unwilling to sleep alone in their own rooms.

They had been sheltered as much as possible from the truth of the situation that would be happening tonight, but they had all picked up on the atmosphere and knew instinctively that something 'big' was going on.

"I wish we were back in Storybrooke," Lily said softly, "at least then we would be able to keep in touch with a cell phone. I hate sitting here, not knowing what's going on."

"Ruby will be fine, and so will the others," Dot tried to reassure the woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to try to comfort her.

"You should see Emma," Kathryn said proudly, "I saw her sparring with Regina and they were both absolutely incredible, but Emma? She was, wow, Emma was magnificent."

"We all saw rather too much when she was sparring with Regina," Lily reminded them with a wry grin.

David put his fingers in his ears, having been told by Kathryn what had happened in the courtyard, "la la la I'm not listening!"

Kathryn laughed, pulling his hands away from his ears and kissing his cheek, "we won't talk about the 'you-know-what' that she did with 'you-know-who', I promise," she teased him.

Looking relieved, David sat trying not to grin. He was glad he hadn't witnessed his daughter's display, but even he had to admit it was pretty funny.

Belle glanced at the clock, it was nearly midnight. The tension in the room suddenly ratcheted up a notch.

"How will we know when it's over?" Dot asked.

"When they come home," Belle told them much more confidently than she felt.

"What if they don't?" Lily asked, "how will we know what happened if they never come back?"

"Lily, you are going to drive yourself insane. You have to relax, or the stress will affect our babies. Ruby would want you to take care of yourself," Dot tried to convince the woman to relax.

"Emma is my oldest friend, Regina is her wife and I love her already for taking such good care of her. Mal is my mother and Ruby is my true love. How can any of you sit round and be so calm? I just feel like it's all going wrong," Lily cried out, as tears started falling down her cheeks, "I feel like Mom and Ruby need me."

"We all feel like that," David sympathised, "all of us in this room feel like we have a lot to lose. We are all worried but all we can do is hope for the best."

"It's not the same!" Lily shouted at them, as they looked at her in shock, "they need me! I know they need me!"

Before they could question what she meant by that, Willow came running into the room, Henry right behind her, both wild eyed and panicked. Willow looked around until she found the person that she needed, Lily.

"We have to go," she told Lily urgently, "they need us. They need me, you and Henwy."

"Who? How do you know?" Lily asked the young girl who was tugging at her hand.

"Aunty Mal and Ruby, they need us, because they're hurt. Mom Regina is trying to help them and Mom Emma is fighting Blue all by herself, but her magic is fading," Willow said desperately, pulling at Lily's hand again until she got to her feet.

Henry looked at Lily, both of them pale and shaky, "Willow has visions of the future. If she says they need us then they need us," he shrugged, fully trusting in his sister's abilities.

"Wait, you can't go to the Lake," David said sternly, "they told us to keep you here and keep you safe, no matter what."

"David, I'm sorry, but I have to do this," Lily innately trusted the young dragon. She took hold of Willow and Henry's hands, allowing Willow's pink signature magic to wash over them and transport them out of the room.

"Shit!" Kathryn hissed, "what do we do?"

"We can't do anything," Belle confirmed their worst fears, "none of us have the powers to get there. All we can do is wait."

"I can't just sit here, while they are all in danger," Dot cried, trembling with fear as she realised not only Ruby, but Lily was also at risk.

"We have to, Dot," Belle told her firmly, "what do you think will happen if we turn up, even if we could get there? None of us have magical powers, we would be a distraction, because you know they would be concentrating more on keeping us safe, than themselves."

"Belle is right," Kathryn said calmly, "if we managed to find a way to get there, there is every chance our presence would get them killed."

"I'm not happy about waiting," David told them, "but I trust Willow, because she is extraordinary. She was very particular that it was Henry, Lily and herself that needed to go. She must have seen something that pointed to the three of them, without any of us."

"So we just sit here and wait?" Dot asked, incredulously.

"Yes. We sit here and wait," Kathryn told her, moving to sit next to her, and offering her a hand, which was immediately caught in Dot's own hands, as they sat holding on for dear life.

The silence that followed was deafening, as they each sat numb, waiting for news of any kind.

It was going to be a long night.